HENDRY CO, Fla. — The Lee County Sheriff's Office and the Hendry County Sheriff's Office say a driver crashed into a Lee County deputy's garage and opened fire with a 9mm handgun on Sunday.
At a joint press conference on Monday, Sheriff Carmine Marceno (LCSO) and Sheriff Steve Whidden (HCS0) say the victim jumped into action to protect his family.
"Yesterday when I arrived on scene, I was very surprised by this incident," Sheriff Steve Whidden said.
You can see video here.
Sheriff Marceno says the deputy and his son were inside of the house when this occurred, but they are safe.
"My deputy is a hero. He jumped into action to protect his family," Sheriff Carmine Marceno confirmed on Monday.
The sheriff say Weber was quickly arrested.
Sheriff Marceno says once the crime scene was cleared, deputies worked to help secure the victim's home.
The deputy is on paid administrative leave - a standard practice correlated with officer-involved shootings, Marceno says.
"He will also be afforded the resources to make sure he and his family are taken care of."
Deputies say the suspect, 32-year-old Derek Weber, has been arrested and charged with the following:
- Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- Attempted first-degree pre-meditated murder
- Armed burglary into an occupied dwelling
- Felony criminal mischief
- Discharging a firearm from a vehicle
- Discharging a firearm into a residential area
- Shooting a deadly missile into an occupied dwelling
- Use of firearm during the commission of a felony.
"In my opinion, it takes a very mentally unstable person to do something like this, and it could've been bad," Whidden says.
